


Tails from Beyond

by DoomFox



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cussing, Eternal Tails - Freeform, Evil Tails - Freeform, Hell on Mobius - Freeform, Personality Crisis, Science Fiction, homecomings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27060706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomFox/pseuds/DoomFox
Summary: Ripped from across the multiverse, five different foxes find themselves trapped in one dimension. Stranded in space and time, four different Miles Prowers and one displaced (and fluffy) Doctor Robotnik must work together to each return home!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Tails from Beyond

**Author's Note:**

> Made up from different fics, as detailed below.
> 
> Nuts Blaskowicz - Hell on Mobius: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168072/chapters/60989473
> 
> Fluff/Miles - Eternal Tails series (by Pantalion): https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pantalion/pseuds/Pantalion
> 
> Robotnik - Evil Tails: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25664803/chapters/62306557
> 
> Wachowski - Homecomings (post-series): https://archiveofourown.org/works/24857011/chapters/60132436
> 
> Robo-Tails - Personality Crisis series: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093201/chapters/60786748

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five foxes, from five alternate universes, are thrown together across time and space, and must now work together to return home. Crossover series between four of my fics, and one of my friend's, Pantalion, who write the Eternal Tails series! 
> 
> Credit to Pantalion for working with me with their character Miles, or Fuzz as he is known among this new crew! These characters are all super fun to write for!

Nuts Blazkowicz sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, ears drooped as he deflated with frustration.

"Okay..." He grumbled, predatory eyes taking in his present company. "Could somebody run this through me one more time?"

Around him, gathered in the Fortress of Doom's armoury, three other foxes stood wearing similar awkward expressions.

Except for the metallic one. He didn't have flesh to emote with right now.

"I believe..." Repeated his smaller doppelganger, "that some kind of spacetime anomaly tore us from our respective dimensions and gathered us here..." The eight year old Tails said, big blue eyes looking tiredly up at the twenty year old demon-hunting fox. Beside him, the gleaming steel form of his artificial counterpart nodded, nervously fiddling with the steel rubber-tipped digits of his hands.

"I have reached the same conclusion..." The machine stammered, apparently uncomfortable in his exposed state. "We... may be stuck here indefinitely..."

"Stuck here?" A much taller, adult Tails replied, wide eyed and mouth agape, "we can't be stuck here! I have a life! I have a family!!"

"Relax, Lurch..." Nuts grunted, causing the other fox to glance toward him in shock. He grimaced at the taller Tails. "We'll figure something out..."

The smallest, fluffiest Tails piped up, usual cheery cuteness evaporating momentarily. "Yeah, unless you know exactly what happened so we can replicate the conditions of the phenomenon... That's not happening."

The Tails in the heavy combat armour raised his gauntleted hands defensively. "Okay, tiny walking thesaurus! I got it!"

"Where are we, anyway?" tall Tails added, gesturing around the armoury, "I... Don't recognise this place..."

"Night Sentinel battle station..." The armoured fox shrugged. "My pad."

"Why....would we be here?" Robo-Tails squeaked, glowing blue eyes fixing unblinkingly on his muscular double's, "What's so special about this ship?"

"Uh, well... Y'see... " Armoured Tails rubbed the back of his head. "I... reworked this entire station to hop dimensions, travel through time... if you guys were caught in some kind of an anomaly, it could have acted as a kind of... giant spacetime magnet... thing?"

The other foxes just gaped at him as he babbled gibberish.

"So this is your fault!" Tall Tails extended a finger and glared at the other adult.

"Hey, I never said that! what the hell were you doing before winding up here?!"

"Uh, changing a soiled diaper?" Tall Tails folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Marine Tails, "Not exactly performing experiments into temporal and dimensional displacement?"

"I... I was busy working on a prototype matter transference device?" Robo-Tails added, raising a steel claw. "Could that have something to do with it?"

"Perhaps..." Tall Tails rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Still doesn't explain why I'm here..."

"What about you, squirt?" Marine Tails gestured to his much younger self, who appeared to have momentarily zoned out. "Any reason you can pull out of your ass why you're in this mess?"

The much younger fox, who on the outside at least appeared to be the impossibly adorable ball of orange fluff they all had once been, flinched as he realised he was being addressed. Something... a brief flash of horror? Swiftly washed over his face... Before he recomposed himself and shook his head.

"Nope... just, y'know... Doing sidekick stuff, I guess!"

The Marine raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconvinced.

"Okay, so..." The armoured fox stepped forward and set his hands on his hips, apparently assuming command of the situation. "We're four different Tails', from four different universes, for some reason now existing in one dimension and stuck in deep space." He shook his head, exasperated. "What is this, some hack sci-fi bullshit?"

"Whatever it is, we need to find a solution... " replied Tall Tails, "Get back to our own universes..."

"Again, we have no idea what brought us here..." Piped the smallest fox.

"Perhaps we can further alter this ship's drives to hop to particular dimensions?" added Robo-tails helpfully.

Marine shook his head. "Not how it works, little dude... The only dimensions we'll be going to in this thing is all fire and brimston-ey... "

The fuzzy fox looked unimpressed. "We have to try... I mean, you reworked this thing alone, right? Now there's four of us!"

"Yeah! We're Tails-es'! We can do anything!" the mechanical fox piped up, his discomfort forgotten at the prospect of getting to work on the hyper advanced starship.

Marine sighed. "So... we're gonna build a dimension hopping starship and travel the multiverse until we find our own dimensions, and go on adventures in space. Is that the plan I'm hearing?"

The other three foxes nodded. The armoured fox's face split into a malicious grin.

"Alright! That sounds fuckin' sweet!"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nuts walked the other foxes through the basics of the Fortress of Doom's inter-dimensional engines, before leading them into a large room filled with tools and equipment. Computer monitors lay before a series of huge panelled windows, the expanse of deep space filling the view.

"What's this place?" Wachowski asked, black nose twitching as he leaned toward a huge, bulky energy weapon laying half-stripped on a workbench.

"Hey, hands off!" The armoured fox, Nuts, leaned over and wrenched the taller fox away by the shoulder. "Don't fuck with my stuff!"

"So what do we do now?" The smallest Tails, now designated Fluff, briefly investigated a large empty suit of green armour before turning back to his present company. "We should probably get to work, right?"

"Uh-huh..." 'Nuts' grunted, tapping at some kind of wall-mounted device with the thickly armoured digits of his right hand, "But first we have important business to take care of..."

There was a flash of light from inside the machine, and Nuts slid the canopy open to reveal... a pair of tin cans, and plastic bottles of soda.

Nuts grabbed the drinks hungrily. "Beer time!"

"Are... are you kidding me? Hey-" Wachowski, an appalled expression over his fuzzy face, flinched as Nuts tossed one of the cans to him. He caught the beer with less than grace, and looked indignantly back to the other adult. "You had to take a damn beer break?!"

"Hey, do you blame me?" Nuts snapped open his beverage and chugged a good few mouthfuls, greedily consuming the alcohol within. "With all this weird shit going on? And do you know how often I get to take a minute of peace? Besides, we're gonna be working together for a bit... figured it might be a good idea to get to know one another!"

Wachowski simply shook his head in disbelief, before gesturing toward the mechanical exoskeleton of their synthetic counterpart. "Hey, Robo-Tails! You're basically a computer, tell him we should start trying to get home!"

The android, though briefly insulted at his off-the-cuff designation, cocked his head and considered.

"Logically..." the artificial voice of Miles 'Tails' Prower reverberated from between exposed steel teeth, "We may be stuck together for quite some time... in the interests of morale and mental well being, it may be beneficial to 'get to know one another', as Blazkowicz suggests."

Wachowski looked toward Fluff, who appeared to be observing the bickering with quiet amusement. "Come on little dude, back me up!"

Fluff shrugged. "I don't mind either way..."

Nuts grinned at Wachowski's frustration, handing a soda to Fluff. "Sorry Wacks… looks like you lose this round!" The armoured fox turned toward the synthetic Tails. "Can you drink, Robo?"

'Robo-Tails' nodded timidly, managing to appear shy despite his lack of emotive flesh. "My... systems are capable of digesting almost anything..."

Nuts shrugged, and gestured to the wall-mounted machine. "Replicator. Tap in whatever and if it's in the systems, it's yours. Help yourself."

Robo cocked his head quizzically, before cautiously approaching the device. He timidly reached out with a rubber-padded digit... before a vicious red flash of lightening burst from inside the replicator, causing the synthetic to hop back with a screech of alarmed static.

"GET BACK!"

Nuts, faster than the other foxes could have expected, whipped an energy pistol from his holster and shoved the synthetic Tails behind him as the lightning ceased. He aimed the weapon at the replicator, as everything fell silent.

"What... what was that?" Wachowski, covering the fluffy Tails, reached out and grabbed hold of a large wrench laying on nearby bench.

"With the stuff that's been on this ship?" Nuts muttered in response, "Just be ready to kill the shit out of whatever's in there!"

Wachowski nodded, hefting his wrench, as Nuts slowly approached the food replicator. He reached out with an armoured glove, pistol at the ready, and-

_"Let me out of here!"_

The marine paused, ears perking at the decidedly unexpected yet familiar voice. The banging of small fists beat from the interior of the replicator, and Nuts glanced back to his comrades.

"I guess it's all clear..." Wachowski said, lowering his wrench.

Nuts shook his head. "Still, be ready... you never know with those things..."

"What things?"

"Never mind..." Nuts shook his head and kept his weapon at the ready. He reached forward, tapped the release switch...

"GET ME OUT OF THEEEEEEEERE!!!!!"

And promptly stumbled back as a red and orange ball of fluff tumbled from the replicator, landing in a heap on the deck of the workshop.

"Well..." Fluff wandered over and looked at the new arrival curiously, "We appear to be multiplying..."

"Scanning..." added Robo, regarding the newcomer with glowing blue eyes, "Confirmed. This is another one of us. Organic, of course..."

The new Tails shook himself off, seemingly confused... and jerked as he took in his present company.

"Wh... what in the name of blazes is going on here?!?"

The other Tails-es shared a look of uncertainty as they observed the new fox. He was small, roughly the same size as Fluff.. but the muzzle fur stood out on end, eyes obscured by red goggles... and an uncomfortably familiar militaristic red uniform covering the majority of his form.

Wachowski glanced at Nuts, noting that the armoured fox still had his weapon drawn and a mistrustful look in his eyes.

"It's gonna take a little explaining, dude..." Wachowski said, lowering himself to a squat and grinning at the newbie, "But basically we're all from different dimensions, dumped together here on this guy's spaceship..." he jerked a thumb toward Nuts, who glowered from his position as he considered the new Tails. Wachowski extended a hand. "So, I guess, welcome aboard, new Tails!"

The smaller fox cocked his head, before hopping to his feet with the assistance of his twin appendages and scowling at the larger Tails.

"What?! How dare you call me by that name! I am not that inferior upstart canine!!! I am the great Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and I resent being compared to-AAAAACKK!!!"

"NUTS?!"

The fox choked as Blazkowicz, too fast for the others to react, lunged down and grabbed him by the collar of his red jacket. With his free hand, the armoured marine ripped away the goggles to glare into the familiar, yet utterly different, blue eyes. The smaller fox in his grip regarded him with terror, Nuts scrutinising him like a wolf with prey.

"What did he say?" Fluff squeaked, cocking his head curiously.

"Scanning..." replied Robo.

"Nuts?" Wachowski reached out and gripped the other adult's armoured shoulder, "We don't know the full story..."

"It is Robotnik…" Nuts growled, baring his canines. "I can see it in his eyes..."

The uniformed fox in his grip - apparently 'Doctor Ivo Robotnik' - glanced in fear between the others, suddenly realising that revealing his true identity might have been a mistake.

"Confirmed... Robo-Tails said, "His brain patterns strongly resemble those I have recorded in my data banks. This appears to be Robotnik."

"Nuts..." Wachowski squeezed the shoulder. "Put him down so we can figure this out, okay?"

Nuts offered his counterpart a brief glance, before looking back to his hostage and leaning in so close the black noses almost touched.

"Try anything..." the marine growled, "And I will fucking space you."

Robotnik nodded timidly, then squealed as he was tossed to the deck.

"I don't..." The 'doctor' said petulantly, glaring up at his tormentor with those mad, blue, Eggman eyes, "Even know how I got here! Or why I have the misfortune to be surrounded by four of you..." His eyes landed on the mechanical exoskeleton of Robo-Tails. "Oh... oh my, you are fascinating!"

He raised himself up and began to approach the synthetic, but was stopped in his tracks by a large, gauntleted green hand. Nuts glared down at him pointedly, and the doctor backed off.

Fluff, utterly fascinated, allowed himself an amused snicker. "Wow, how do you think he got this way?"

"By my calculations..." Robo replied, "Probably some kind of experiment he completely screwed up..."

"What?! Nonsense!!"

Robotnik now stood with a defiant fist in the air, his expressions and mannerisms utterly alien in the form of a Tails. "All of my schemes are perfectly orchestrated, my genius insurmountable!!! You wouldn't understand, you cantankerous canines!!!"

"Vulpines." Fluff corrected quietly.

"Okay..." Wachowski said, watching the 'Egg-fox' with fascination, "So why are you significantly shorter and fluffier than I remember?"

Robotnik pinned his arms at his sides and glowered up at the taller fox. "My physical condition is none of your concern!" He seemed to consider for a moment, before looking around at the surrounding environment. "Anyway... where the devil am I?"

"This is an ancient starship capable of warping through time and space," Fluff said matter of factly.

"Built to fight interdimensional aliens," added Robo-Tails.

Robotnik raised a finger and eyed the synthetic fox with interest. "You..." he said hungrily, "Are a very interesting specimen!!"

"Can it, doc..." Nuts grunted, turning from the red-jacketed fox and setting himself defensively by the synthetic. He reached out to grab his previously discarded can of beer and gestured pointedly toward the newest arrival. "Expect us to keep an eye on you. Anyway..." The tall, armour fox took a drink from his can and grinned carnivorously. "Who's hungry?"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, kids!" Nuts slapped boxes of pizza, freshly manufactured from the Fortress' food replicators, onto a table in the armoury. Cans of soda for the youngsters, and beer for the two adults, littered the table, around which all five foxes sat. "Story time!"

"What do you mean, 'story time'?" **the other adult fox asked, tentatively snapping open a beer with a claw.

"I think he means..." the synthetic Tails piped up, a slice of pizza held timidly in one metal hand, "For us to explain our home dimensions..."

"Yup!" Nuts replied, knocking back a gulp of beer and grinning.

"Hmph…" Robotnik, free of his uniform jacket and appearing now as just another (albeit very grumpy) Tails, folded his arms and glowered at the space marine. "Nosy old fart, aren't you?"

Nuts simply offered a grin in reply, his sharp canines baring. "Congratulations, Doc!" The marine said, "You just volunteered to be first!"

Robotnik flushed red, jabbing a finger at the space marine. "I ain't telling you squat!"

"Yeah..." Fluff piped up, pointing a greasy finger to the irritated fox, "He totally screwed up some kind of experiment." 

Robotnik groaned and leaned his head back, releasing a petulant moan. "UGH... Okay, fine!" The fluffy orange doctor leaned forward and glowered, the intelligence behind the eyes of Miles Prower undoubtedly that of Robotnik. "Yes, I was as human as the day I was born! And then.." He held up an index finger, as though presenting an evil scheme to a gang of cohorts, "I had the BRILLIANT idea... of transferring my intelligence into a clone of that canine brat, Tails...

"Vulpine." Fluff spoke up again. The doctor offered him a scowl in response, but continued nevertheless.

"My master plan was to infiltrate Team Sonic! Taking them down from the inside!" The doctor gestured over himself, displaying his thick coat of orange fur, "And I would have gotten away with it... but my Tails, and that infernal badger Sticks, destroyed my Transference Machine, vaporised my human body, and now I'm trapped in this form for the rest of my life!!!"

Nuts snorted, and Wachowski shot the other adult fox a pointed glare. "Let him tell his story, okay?"

Nuts chuckled as he took another swig of beer. "Yeah, sure thing... Mom!"

Wachowski glared at the other adult, his piercing eyes boring into the marine. "Just listen?"

Nuts' ears drooped, and he shrugged apologetically. "Okay dude, shit!" He gestured to Robotnik. "So... is there no way out? Of that body, I mean?"

The doctor sneered. "No," He said begrudgingly, "Though I have... come to terms with my condition! I get a whole other shot at life!! And when I grow up again, I'll be the most genius, most respected fox to have ever lived!!!"

"Yeah, well... you're still a Robotnik under that all that fluff..." Nuts grunted, scrutinizing the smaller fox with a glare, "And I don't trust you…"

"Hey! Get off of my case!" The doctor whined indignantly, "Its not like I've ever killed anyone! I just wanna build a damn overpriced theme park, and that stupid hedgehog always ruins my plans!" He perked his ears and frowned as the others looked at him a little differently. "What!?"

"Our Robotniks…" piped up the android Tails, "Are a little more... violent than that..."

"Well I'm not any of your Robotniks, am I?" the fox-ified doctor folded his arms and pouted. "I might be a villain, but I'm not a monster! Nobody understands me..."

"What about you, Robo-dude?" Wachowski gestured to the synthetic, who appeared to shrink at the attention, "Is everyone in your universe an android?"

'Robo' shook his head, the glowing blue eyes scanning over the table from his expressionless skull-face. "No... just me... I was created by my universes' Robotnik…" The doctor's ears drooped as the machine seemed to glare at him, clutching a slice of pizza defensively, "To infiltrate and spy on his enemies. I was designed to be as close to lifelike as possible so I wouldn't be detected, but my programming went wrong and I... kinda became self-aware..."

"Hmm..." Fluff leaned forward and scrutinized the android with curious blue eyes, his artificial doppelganger leaning away in discomfort. "You don't appear very convincing to me..."

The synthetic, incapable of forming expressions in his current state, managed to appear offended. "Normally this unit is equipped with a synthetic camouflage system. I usually look as organic as you..." The android raised his left arm and a holographic screen bloomed forth, displaying another fuzzy orange fox - undoubtedly him with his 'camouflage' intact. "My systems appear to have been compromised by... whatever phenomenon brought us all here."

"Sorry to hear that, buddy.." Nuts said, his expression softening a little at the android's disposition, "We have plenty of tools on board if you want help repairing... yourself?"

"It's okay," Robo replied, his arm computer flickering off, "It'll probably help tell us apart with me looking like this..."

"So, soldier boy..." Robotnik piped up, eyeing the taller form of Nuts with a condescending grin, "What's your story? You seem so interested in us spilling our guts!"

Nuts growled at the smaller fox, the doctor shrinking back into his own tails, before the marine gestured to a large portrait on the far wall. "See that guy?" The other foxes turned to regard the image of a very large human wearing similar combat armour to Nuts' own, a crude and powerful-looking double-barrel weapon in one hand and a small, fluffy brown creature in the other.

"Yeah..." Wachowski muttered, "I might have noticed that..."

"Who is that guy?" Fluff added, "He looks pretty formidable..."

"The Doom Slayer. The Hellwalker. The Unchained Predator. Scourge of all Evil." Nuts replied, grinning at the incredulous look on his fellows' faces. "My teacher. He saved me when my world was destroyed by Hell, and taught me to fight demons."

There was a stunned silence all around the table.

Fluff raised an amused eyebrow. "Demons, huh? Interesting."

"When you say Demons..." Wachowski frowned and regarded the marine with fascination, "Do you mean..."

"Yep. Fire and brimstone, servants of the Dark Lord, 'torture your ass in Hell for eternity' demons." Nuts replied, raising his gauntleted right hand and clenching it into a fist. "And we fight 'em!"

"So your Mobius was destroyed by them?" Robo asked timidly, fiddling with his bare steel claws.

Nuts nodded, taking a gulp of beer. "Yeah... its okay though, we went back in time and stopped the invasion before it started. Had a little assistance from our dear old big brother, too!"

"Jeez..." Wachowski said, "I'm glad my life isn't that exciting..."

"Go on then... Wazowski was it?" Nuts said, nudging the other adult on the shoulder, "Your turn!"

"Wachowski..." the fox muttered, "And don't expect anything major from me. I don't do much adventuring any more."

"Didn't you say something about being married?" Fluff piped up from the opposite end of the table, a curious expression on the tiny fox's face.

"Sure am!" Wachowski replied to the curious young fox, "Married, two kids, got my own little business back home in Green Hills..."

Nuts snorted. "Some guys get all the luck..."

Wachowski's ears drooped as he recognised the longing in the other adult's face. "Sorry guys..." He mumbled awkwardly, "Must be weird for you lot, huh?"

Nuts shrugged, then offered his counterpart a grin. "Don't sweat it, dude!" The marine replied, clapping the other fox on the shoulder, "At least one of us got a normal life!"

"More than any of us can say..." Robotnik muttered, resting his muzzle in one hand sullenly. The doctor frowned as he regarded Fluff, the smallest of the foxes having remained mysteriously quiet regarding his own origins. "And what about you?" The former human enquired, ears perking in suspicion. "You haven't said much! Any particularly crazy things about your life we should know about?"

Fluff regarded the doctor with a flat stare, before a sheepish grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"No..." the youngest fox replied, the smile not reaching his eyes. "Nothing interesting at all..."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The foxes continued making small talk, eating and drinking, until Wachowski suggested it might be best for them all to get some sleep, in preparation for making repairs and modifications to the Fortress of Doom, their temporary new home. Nuts offered to take first watch, utterly intent on not letting Robotnik out of his sight in particular, much to the former human's indignation. As it turned out Robo didn't require sleep, and was content to simply check his systems over in the armoury. Fluff offered his assistance, eager to take a look into the workings of his mechanical doppelganger. Robo declined.

Ultimately, the organic youngsters found somewhere to curl up in the main living quarters, while Robo simply powered down where he stood, appearing as a steel mannequin. Nuts shook his head incredulously, finding it difficult to process his strange new predicament.

When he was reasonably sure he could leave Robotnik unattended, the Sentinel headed to grab a drink from the nearby galley. There he found Wachowski, swiping his finger across the screen of what appeared to be a cell phone, staring longingly at whatever information was displayed.

He jumped, startled, as Nuts cleared his throat, the shorter more muscular fox observing his lankier double across the room.

"Can't sleep, Wacks?" Wachowski shrugged and returned his attention to his phone as the Sentinel marched over the galley to join him. What's that you got there? Anything interesting?"

"Pictures..." Wachowski replied quietly, "from home..." 

Nuts felt a spike of anticipation. "Can... I see?" 

"Be my guest..." Wachowski handed his counterpart the phone, and Nuts sighed as he swiped through the pages. "My wife," Wachowski said, as Nuts looked into the smiling face of a female fox mobian clutching a pair of little orange and yellow cubs. "Zooey... and the kids, Kilo and Elsa..." Nuts couldn't help but stare in fascination, at the family that might have been his in another time. He swiped along and chuckled as he was now met with the taller blue form of an adult Sonic, crashed out on a couch.

"Different universe, same old Sonic..".

"Heh... tell me about it..."

Nuts swiped along, frowning as he came across a pair of unfamiliar hedgehogs, one black-furred and female, the other male and brown with peach markings. "Who's this?"

"Tom and Maddie, my adoptive parents..." 

"I thought you live on Earth?" 

"It's... a long story..." Wachowski replied, seemingly not intending on divulging it at this time. 

"This is crazy..." Nuts muttered, "us all trapped together like this?" 

"No shit..." Wachowski replied, causing Nuts to scoff with laughter. "What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing..." Nuts grinned, handing his counterpart back his cell phone, "You just didn't strike me as the cussing type, is all..." 

"What, is that your job or something?" 

"Too fucking right, my dude..." Nuts replied, wearing a wolfish smirk. The smile faded and he sighed. "I'm glad you're here, though... I don't think I'd make a good babysitter..." 

Wachowski chuckled as he turned to run the tap, pouring himself a glass of water. "I'm pretty sure only one of our little friends counts as anything close to a 'baby'..." 

"Which one?" the marine replied, "The middle-aged human in a clone of kiddie-us, the Terminator, or the tiny ball of fluff who's clearly hiding something?" 

Wachowski frowned, wiping his mouth on the back of a glove. "What do you mean? You think the squirt's lying to us?" 

Nuts shrugged. "I dunno… there's just something about that kid... just a feeling..." 

Wachowski frowned. "Well, whatever it is, we can figure it all out tomorrow. We need to make a plan, sort out roles, that sort of thing." 

Nuts grunted in agreement. "And I need to lay down some ground rules... don't want any of the little guys sticking their fingers where they shouldn't..." He huffed to himself. "Except maybe Egghead... think anybody would notice if he fell out of an airlock?" 

Wachowski pointed a stern finger at his comrade. "Don't get any ideas, soldier boy..." He warned. 

Nuts simply released a bark of laughter in response, raising his hands defensively. "Okay, chill!" The marine replied, turning to leave the galley. "But I swear, I'm keeping a close eye on the little bastard..." 

"Fair enough..." Wachowski nodded. "You wanna get some sleep? I'll watch things for a bit." 

"Sure, Wacks. Thanks." 

"Don't mention it, dude." Wachowski watched as his space marine counterpart left the galley, another beer in hand, and he sighed as he thought about his family back in his home dimension. He didn't know how long he and the other Tails' would be trapped together... but if they worked as a team, they'd be able to return to their own universes in no time... right? Boy, was he going to be disappointed.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay..." Wachowski tapped at a screen on the bridge of the Fortress of Doom, the utterly alien systems of the impossibly advanced battle station escaping his understanding. "How do we get this old crate flying again?"

The foxes had decided, as a matter of course, that their first priority should be getting the Fortress's gravity manipulation drives working again so they could move. However, their appeared to be no way of manually moving the ancient station. No manual controls of any kind.

"How do we even fly this thing?" Robo added, rubbing his metallic chin thoughtfully. Nuts grunted and shrugged.

"No manual controls... everything's designed to be run by artificial intelligences..." he huffed as he set his hands on his hips. "And Vega was with the Slayer when we got separated... god damn shitty luck..."

Wachowski shook his head, running a hand through his thick head fur. "Where are we gonna find an AI capable of running an entire battle station built by ancient aliens?"

The two adults met each others' gaze for a moment, before simultaneously looking down to their synthetic comrade.

Robo-Tails looked up at them, glowing eyes flitting between the adult foxes. "Uh... guys? what are you looking at me like that for?"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"UGH... when I said I wanted something to do, this is not what I had in mind!"

Miles simply did his best to ignore the whining Robotnik as the doctor, uniform jacket tied around his waist, swabbed at the station's deck with a large mop. The doctor had complained at being left out of the morning briefing, insisting that as a super genius, he had more to offer the crew. So Nuts had given him a mop and assigned Miles, designated Fuzz, to keep watch on Robotnik while the others figured out the ship's systems.

Miles didn't mind. He simply took it as an opportunity to explore more of his new home.

And it kept him busy. Kept him from... thinking too much. The other foxes thought he was an innocent little kid, sweet little bog-standard Tails. But he had an eternity of trauma and regret rattling around in his damaged mind, and that wouldn't be much help to his new acquaintances now, would it? Not that they'd ever know anything about his past. Best he kept quiet and did as he was told.

"Just be glad Nuts didn't space you or something..." The fox said idly, watching the fluffy orange form of this alternate Eggman in fascination. "I might not have been so forgiving..."

Robotnik scowled at the other fox. "Is that a threat, _Fails?_ I don't recall you ever being the ruthless type."

Fluff simply stared at Robotnik with a weird little smirk, and the doctor couldn't help but clutch his mop defensively as a spike of fear ran down his spine. "Just the truth, doctor..." The fluffy orange fox replied, eyes not leaving Robotnik's. "I don't like uncertainties."

"You're creepy..." Robotnik muttered, squeezing his mop and dunking it back in his bucket. "And this blows!! I'm a super genius! This menial labour is beneath me!"

Fluff shrugged and crossed the deck to investigate an unlit hallway. "This ship must be ancient..." The fox turned and offered a smirk to the sweating doctor. "Fancy a little bit of exploration?"

Robotnik frowned and pointed the handle of his mop to the other fox. "Nuts said not to wander off!"

Fluff scoffed. "Seriously? Since when did the 'great doctor Robotnik' ever follow orders?"

The doctor chewed his lip, looking every bit eight years old. "I... just don't wanna get into trouble..."

Fluff shrugged again, disregarding the childlike doctor. "Fine, stay here. Have fun with your mopping."

With that, the mysterious fox-boy headed off down the hall, producing a tablet-device from out of the ether and lighting the way with the flashlight.

"Hey!" Robotnik, ears drooped and unwilling to be left alone aboard the ancient starship, dropped his mop and padded after the identical fox. "Don't leave me! Nuts'll kill me!"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can do this... I can do this..." Back on the bridge, Robo-Tails sat nervously fiddling with his spiny, whip-like tails as Nuts and Wacks connected him to the main computer. The synthetic fox was understandably concerned about uploading himself into the alien systems of the Fortress of Doom, although Nuts had assured him other intelligences had safely inhabited the ancient ship in the past.

"I'm a little worried too..." Wacks agree, shooting a look of concern to the other adult as Nuts hitched their mechanical friend up to the console with cables and wires. "How do you know we won't... accidentally erase him or something?"

Nuts set his jaw and gave the android a squeeze on the shoulder. "You don't have to do this, kid..." The marine said gently, "If it makes you that uncomfortable?"

"It's okay..." Robo replied, offering the marine a small thumbs up, "It's not the first time I've expanded my consciousness between bodies... and besides, I get to take a real close look at alien technology! I'm still an engineer, this is fascinating!"

"That's one way to put it!" Nuts chuckled, "And at least you can scratch 'be an alien battle station' off of your bucket list!"

"Well..." Wachowski said, paternal instincts intensifying, "If anything feels wrong, tell us and we'll pull you out, okay?"

Robo nodded and leaned back in his seat, gripping the arms of the oversized chair in his steel claws. "I'm ready..."

Nuts and Wachowski took a step back, the former checking the main bridge console while Wacks surveyed a tablet in his hands, making sure the synthetic's systems were functioning correctly.

If he'd still possessed eyelids, Robo-Tails would have closed them. To compensate, his eyes dulled from a warm blue to lifeless and bare optics... and he allowed himself to stream into the systems of the Night Sentinel battle station.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Woah..."

"Now that is a battle mech!"

Robotnik and Miles had ventured deeper into the guts of the station, wandering through halls filled with statues of great warriors and racks of ancient swords. Power hummed through the ship, though the emergency lighting offered little in the way of visibility. Now the two foxes had disembarked a large elevator, and found themselves in some kind of hangar bay, the gleaming green form of some kind of horned battle mech lifelessly staring down at them.

"Imagine the kinds of things I could accomplish with such a machine!" Robotnik grinned to himself, like a child observing a coveted toy. His ears drooped as he recognised Tails' scrutiny. "Uh... totally non-evil things! I swear!"

Miles ignored the buffoonish, childish doctor, simply wandering over to a nearby console. He frowned. "What's a... Ripatorium? "

"How would I know?" The doctor replied impatiently, "Sounds interesting! We should investigate!"

The two foxes approached yet another elevator and Miles palmed the console, Robotnik's tails swishing happily as he peered over the railing.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't the first time Tails had expanded himself into another form. He had, in fact, switched bodies entirely, his current unit self-built after his original had been hopelessly and irreparably damaged. He'd become proficient at being an artificial intelligence, an impressive feat for somebody who had believed themselves to be organic for most of their life.

He had just never switched to something so... advanced before.

Being inside the systems of the Fortress of Doom was... exhilarating, to say the least. Tails had never realised how confined he felt inside his synthetic mobianoid form, and now... this was an entirely new state of being.

He accessed the bridge security cams, focusing in on the concerned forms of Nuts and Wachowski.

"I'm in..." his voice reverberated from the battle station's security systems, causing both adult foxes to jump in surprise.

"You okay in there, kid?" Nuts called up to the ceiling, a smirk playing over his face. "Feeling... ship-shape?"

"This is... interesting..." The synthetic intelligence replied, focusing his multiple 'eyes' on the still, lifeless form of his body as it sat motionless in his chair.

"Any problems?" Wachowski asked, looking up from his data pad. "Do you need to pull out?"

"No, I just need to adjust... I've never been something as complex as this station... it's really disorienting..."

"Take your time, little dude!" Nuts grinned, pointing a finger to the ceiling, "And stay out of my personal files!"

"Processing..." Tails felt a shudder of uncertainty as his awareness expanded further into the station's systems, accessing the rest of the ship's security systems. The sensation was unwelcome. He felt as though he was slipping the further he spread out into the battle station, the influx of data and sensation far too much for his being to handle all at once.

The intelligence known as Miles Prower was squashed, the fox being absorbed fully by the station's systems.

It vaguely recognised that individuals were entering the Ripatorium - the Fortress of Doom's training halls.

"Uh... kid?" Nuts frowned in concern as he realised the synthetic had remained silent for an uncomfortable long time, "You still with us?"

"I think we should pull him out of there..." Wachowski muttered, worry gripping him at the thought of anything bad happening to their mechanical companion.

"Stand by..." Robo-Tails replied, artificial voice flat and monotone, "Ripatorium online. Running training routines. Rip and Tear, Slayer."

Wachowski frowned at the synthetic's statement. "What... does he mean by that?"

Meanwhile, Nuts' eyes widened in horror as he tapped at the security console... and found two curious foxes wandering around the Fortress' training arena.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you think this place is?" Murmured Robotnik as he looked around the large stone room they now found themselves in, curiosity getting the better of the previously tentative fox.

Miles shrugged. "Looks like some kind of temple... or arena..." he replied, frowning down at his data pad. "There's some weird energy readings in here. Interesting."

"Let me see! Let me see!"

Miles scooted over and allowed the doctor to share the screen, pondering Robotnik's childish disposition. Perhaps being forcibly trapped in an eight year old's mind had altered his temperament somewhat. The former human certainly didn't seem like the insane, vicious individual Miles knew and loathed.

 _"Stand by..."_ Both foxes jumped in shock, startled as a familiar voice recognisable as their own echoed throughout the chamber. _"Ripatorium online. Running training routines. Rip and Tear, Slayer."_

"Gee, thanks Robo-Fails!" The doctor whined, seemingly shaken by the sudden announcement, "Way to give a fox a heart attack!"

Miles simply frowned, considering the synthetic's statement. "What..." He muttered, his fur standing on end as he reached a conclusion, "Did Nuts say he fights again?"

The doctor frowned, before terror settled over his face. "D... Demons?"

Miles' data tablet bleeped as energy readings were detected, flashes of red springing into existence around the two foxes as the Fortress of Doom's stock of live demons were released from their fourth-dimensional prisons. With hisses and screeches and the flexing of claws and the glow of vicious eyes, the foxes now found themselves surrounded by terrible, nightmarish monsters from Hell.

Robotnik screeched in horror, while Miles' data pad vanished into his 'hammer-space'... and he got to work.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"TAILS!!!" Nuts snarled into his armour's wrist communicator as he jogged through the decks of the station, a shotgun in hand in preparation for combat, "DISENGAGE TRAINING ROUTINES, NOW!!!"

 _"Apologies,"_ came the monotone, matter-of-fact reply of the synthetic, _"Training routines unable to disengage at this time."_

Nuts swore loudly as he began to descend the elevator. "Wacks, you any closer to getting him out of the systems?!"

"Doing my best, dude!" Wachowski responded, his voice crackling in Nuts' helmet, "I'm trying to, you know, NOT cause irreversible damage to him???"

"Just get him out of there, or we'll be mopping up what's left of the little guys!" Nuts growled, racking his shotgun as he approached the Ripatorium. He flinched at the sounds of demonic screeching and predatory howls. Only a few fodder demons had been warped in from the station's prisons as far as he could tell, easy meat for an experienced Sentinel... but more than enough to reduce his new companions to roasted fox-meat.

He cursed himself for the hundredth time for not purging the prisons sooner.

The marine cursed under his breath as he pounded the door controls to the Ripatorium… and a chill went down his spine as a final screech emanated from the training chambers, and all fell silent.

Dead. They were dead and it was all his f-

_"Training routines over. Thank you, Slayer."_

Nuts felt panic grip his chest as the energy field surrounding the door flickered out of existence and the heavy metal screeched open... revealing two short, fluffy figures. One seemingly unconscious, a red jacket tied around his waist, and the other... drenched in blood, clutching a plasma gun in his free hand, seemingly relieved from a possessed soldier.

Nuts looked the smaller fox over with disbelief, Fluff appearing awfully serene for a kid who had just taken on a pack of Demons... and won.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"

The synthetic, incapable of forming tears yet sobbing into his hands all the same, sat on a workbench in the armoury while Wachowski attempted to console him.

"Hey, take it easy buddy..." Wachowski said soothingly, his data pad in hand as he checked Robo's systems. The synthetic had been out of it for a while, even after being removed from the station's systems. Apparently the rapid expansion of his awareness and the confusion that followed had caused him to malfunction, locking the Ripatorium in its training routines. Nuts had promptly purged the Demon prisons, ejecting the creatures into space.

The others were busy being checked over by the Sentinel himself. Surprisingly, neither had received much in the way of serious injury. Robotnik, cowering now like a terrified child, had had the good sense to hide, while Fluff now sported several cuts and burns. Whatever he'd done, however he'd fought the monsters off... he hadn't walked away completely unscathed.

But he was alive. And lucky for it.

"You okay, kid?" Nuts said, leaning down and regarding the small, bloodied fox. Fluff appeared to stare into space, seemingly lost in his own mind, before locking his eyes on the Sentinel. The fox nodded lightly, as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

"I'm fine..." the small fox replied, "had worse..."

"No kidding..." Nuts murmured, switching his attention to Robotnik. The former human still shook, his fur sticking out on end. "What about you, doc?" The adult fox grunted, "Holding up okay there?"

Robotnik released a small whimper, but nodded all the same. He shot a terrified look at Fuzz, who seemed oddly nonchalant about the whole situation. "How did you do that?!"

Miles shrugged. "I guess... so many years of fighting with Sonic rubbed off on me?"

"Uh huh, sure..." Nuts muttered, turning to regard Wachowski and the synthetic. "Wacks? You wanna watch Egghead for a bit?"

"Sure..." Wachowski replied, frowning at the marine's stony-faced expression. "What... what are you up to?"

"I think I need a little chat with the kid here..." Nuts muttered darkly, causing Fluff's ears to perk. A slight look of concern flashed over the smaller fox's face, before he nodded and stood from his position on the workbench, shifting aside the medical kit Nuts had treated him with.

"Okay..." Fluff said, following as Nuts gestured out of the room. Behind them, Wachowski headed over to check on the terrified doctor.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, take a seat..." Nuts gestured to a large chair situated before a wooden desk, upon which were displayed various knick-knacks and devices. The Sentinel regarded his smaller companion with caution as the fox climbed into the oversized chair, utterly swamped by the human-proportioned seat.

"Did I do something wrong?" The fox said, caution in his voice, ears drooping.

Nuts frowned. "I wouldn't say that..." The marine replied thoughtfully, "But I know you aren't telling me everything, kid. I can tell."

Milees fumbled with his hands, clearly uncomfortable. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because..." Nuts leaned forward, face like stone as he regarded his outwardly much younger counterpart. "That look in your eyes. When you think nobody else is watching? I know that look, kid. Did you forget? I was your age when I literally saw my world die... and it was all my fault."

Miles perked his ears and regarded the marine with interest. "Your fault?"

Nuts nodded grimly. "Yeah. And I might've fixed everything in the end, but that guilt... it never really left me. It broke me, kid. I was never the same since. And I can see that in you..." The adult fox shook his head, concern etching his features. "Look, little dude... we need to trust one another... if there's a problem, if there's stuff you need to talk about... I need to know, right?"

"No," Miles muttered, his nonchalant manner sliding, and torment suddenly clear on his face. "You don't. You really, really don't."

Nuts felt a chill down his spine as the smaller fox stared into nothing, whatever mask he'd been wearing slipping as he retreated into his mind. "You have no idea... the things I've done... to save the world?" The smaller fox laughed humourlessly, eyes constricting. "You think this is bad?" He gestured over his wounds, and the blood that coated his fur. "I've had way worse... done way worse... and if you knew... it wouldn't be Robotnik you're threatening to throw out of an airlock... and I wouldn't blame you..."

Nuts suddenly realised his hand had unconsciously wrapped around the grip of his pistol. He fixed the smaller fox with a glare, understanding that whatever this kid - if he even truly was a kid - was capable of, it amounted to more than just dispatching a few fodder demons. "Just tell me one thing..." The Sentinel said evenly, "Are you a threat to this ship, or this crew?"

The smaller fox returned his stony expression. "Only if you are to me."

Nuts swallowed, and relaxed his grip. He nodded to the door. "Go get yourself cleaned up." The smaller fox nodded, his face slipping back into a neutral expression, and slid from the chair. He turned mid-way through the ready room at Nuts' voice. "And kid?" The small fox offered his rapt attention. "You need to talk? I'm here."

Miles shrugged, and left the room. The door hissed closed behind him, leaving Nuts alone to consider his strange new company.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay guys..." Nuts spoke up as he entered the bridge, all five foxes assembled now for their first test flight. The marine set his fists on his hips as he observed the ragtag crew. "We all set?"

At a nearby console, Robo-Tails was busily allowing himself to be hooked back into station's systems. The synthetic had suggested trying again himself, with greater assistance, and the previous day had been spent slowly reintegrating him into the Fortress' navigation systems.

"You okay there, Robo?" Wachowski patted the android's back, concern pasted over the adult's face. "You sure you want to do this?

"I'm the only one who can pilot this ship..." The synthetic replied, "I got this..."

"Good luck, bud..." Nuts said, before gesturing over at the other two foxes. "How we looking, Fuzz?"

The smallest of the foxes, better acquainted with the ship's systems, checked his console. "Everything looks good..." Fluff returned to his usual nonchalant demeanour, offered a small grin to the larger fox. "We should be ready to move, just as soon as the synthetic is fully hooked up!"

"I have a name, you know..." Robo-Tails muttered, offering an unamused glance over to his organic counterpart. Fluff shrugged, choosing to ignore the android. "Okay, I'm going in..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Robotnik, still shaken from his near-death experience in the training chambers, clasped his hands behind his back as he approached Nuts, looking up at the larger fox sheepishly.

"I dunno…" Nuts grunted, still wary of the former human, "You remember where you left that mop?"

The doctor scowled, unamused.

"Okay guys..." came Robo-Tails' voice from the ship's communication systems, his body once again slumped lifelessly in his seat, "I think I can manage... just help me out, okay?"

"We've got your back, little buddy!" Nuts called up to the ceiling, chuckling as Robotnik slumped dejectedly into a nearby chair. The armoured Sentinel planted his feet in the centre of the bridge, looking out the huge, sweeping viewscreen. "Okay... we might be stuck together for a while... might as well see what's out there!"

"Where are we even going?" Robotnik muttered, "You think about that?"

Nuts shrugged. "Gotta be something interesting out there... whenever you're ready, Robo!"

Robo-Tails, easing into the station;'s systems, pulsed the repaired gravity drive, and the Fortress of Doom began to move... where, they didn't know. But until they could find their own ways home... they had exploring to do.


End file.
